The Pakistani Foreign Ministry on Friday rejected allegations made a day earlier by Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh that Islamabad was obstructing Kabul's operations against the Taliban (designated terrorist and banned in Russia) in the border region
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2021) The Pakistani Foreign Ministry on Friday rejected allegations made a day earlier by Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh that Islamabad was obstructing Kabul's operations against the Taliban (designated terrorist and banned in Russia) in the border region.
On Thursday, Saleh said in a tweet that the Pakistani air force had warned Afghan security forces (ANDSF) that it would retaliate against any move to strike Taliban militants in the Spin Boldak region bordering Pakistan. The Afghan official further stated that Islamabad was providing air support to Taliban in certain areas.
"Such statements undermine Pakistan's sincere efforts to play its part in an Afghan owned and Afghan led solution," the ministry's spokesperson wrote on Facebook, noting that Pakistan had, indeed received information from the Afghan side about possible airstrikes on the Taliban near the border and that it had "responded positively" to Kabul's right to act within Afghanistan's territory.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry stressed that it acknowledges the Afghan government's right to "undertake actions on its sovereign territory" and cited Islamabad's offer to provide the ANDSF with logistical support if requested. The ministry also affirmed its commitment to peace and "achieving an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement in Afghanistan."�
On Wednesday, the Taliban captured a crossing connecting Afghanistan's Spin Boldak region to Chaman sector in Pakistan. The post is crucial for cross-border travel and trade and has served as a key source of revenue for the Afghan government. Kabul has been attempting to re-capture the crossing ever since.
